UN says Dutch still top synthetic drugs producers

the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says the Netherlands is still the major producer of amphetamines and ecstasy. However, the amount of synthetic drugs manufactured in the country has fallen, with an increasing number of producers moving abroad.

The reasons given for the development include more intensive detective work. The report, however, says that the remaining illegal laboratories, most of which are in the west and south of the Netherlands, are getting bigger.

The UNODC researchers conclude that drugs laboratories are in general moving slowly but surely away from Western Europe. The drugs manufacturers appear to be favouring Southeast Asia, Australia, North America and Eastern Europe.